Number Hunters: Redux
by Hirumanai
Summary: In a world where Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL never happened, three organizations of self-proclaimed "Number Hunters" fight for control of the Number Cards, each with their own intents and purposes. In addition, a dark threat from the cosmos threatens them all...Will the Hunters be able to unite to fight off this new menace? Or will this be the end of humanity?


_Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal is an elaborate lie. Oh, Numbers exist, all right, but Yuma and his friends never existed, and are all fictional characters formulated by the government to hide what REALLY happened when the Numbers came to Earth. The truth, I must warn you, is a dark one, full of unimaginable horrors, but your sense of security...is a necessary sacrifice. Even now, the government pursues me, trying to silence my lips. So, please, stay a while, and allow me to tell you the TRUE story of the Numbers..._

**Hunt I: Puppet  
><strong>

_Number Cards. Just the name strikes fear into the hearts of the most hardened of men._

_Nobody knows where they came from, or can even begin to guess. It is said that only one copy of every Number card has ever existed, and that they contain a power that cannot be matched by any other card in existence. In fact, they are so powerful that it is said the cards are capable of causing real damage. Rumor even has it that these cards are alive, and can drive anyone that carries them insane. Because of this, many aspiring Duelists and businessmen began to form groups to collect the Number cards, all 107 of them. Some did it for power, some did it for money, and some did it to study them. Out of all these "Number Hunting" groups, as they were called, three of them reigned as the most powerful._

_The **NHUA**, or the Number Hunters United Agency, arguably the largest Number Hunting group in existence, was a government-funded organization dedicated to the destruction of the Number Cards, to keep the dark powers contained within them from getting into the hands of the wrong people. Despite the NHUA's efforts, the **Thug Kings** were an organization of criminals who wanted to use the power of the Numbers to make the world their oyster. They constantly out-witted the NHUA, much to their annoyance. Not much is known about the **Grevix Family**, other than the fact that they are a rich family of Number Hunters, who usually operate in secret and reject any cooperation with any other Hunters, but are said to hold a dark secret about the Numbers. All three of these groups are headquartered in or near the city of Sycniac (sis-NEE-ack), Japan, where all Number activity seems to be centered._

_Our story begins with Tonio Grevix, a 17-year old third-generation Grevix Number Hunter, seeking vengeance for his tutor, who was killed while looking for Numbers..._

"Agent Maverick to Conquistador. Status report."  
>"Conquistador speaking. I have located 64 in the Southern Marketplace. I am headed there now for retrieval."<br>"Roger, Conquistador. I'll dispatch a backup squad to-"  
>"No. I do not require backup. I will take care of this myself."<br>"...Roger. Are you sure, Conquistador? You've failed quite a bit recently. Let the professionals-"  
>"I already told you, Maverick. I will take care of this myself. Conquistador out."<p>

Tonio snickered. He had hacked into the NHUA's private communications channel with the custom computer in his room, hoping to pick up some information that could be of use to him.  
>"64, hmm? Ronin Raccoon Sandayu. Sounds like this could be worth my time." He aid smugly.<br>Tonio got up from his desk. He was fairly tall and thin for someone his age, standing at about 5'7''. He had a mop of silver hair on top of his head that went down to his neck, and dark blue eyes. He was wearing a black white polo shirt and black dress pants. Tonio proceeded out of his room into the main hall of his family's mansion. The Grevixes were one of the richest families in Sycniac, and had bought the mansion after their formal clothes enterprise had boomed in the 60's. It was only recently that the family had discovered the Numbers, and began to use their resources to collect them for further investigation. The main hall's floor was made of white marble, and had a golden "G" in the center of the room. Looking up, Tonio marveled at the glass dome at the top of the room, three stories high. Although the main hall was on the first floor, there were railed-off areas of the second and third floors that allowed one to peer into the room at any time.

Tonio walked up the stairs to the second floor, where his father's study was. The family policy was to inform Mr. Matthew Grevix, Tonio's father and head of the family, whenever one was going to pursue a Number Card, for safety reasons. Tonio knocked on his father's door a few times.  
>"Come in, please." Mr. Grevix's voice boomed from the other side of the door. Tonio opened the door, walked in, and closed the door behind him. Mr. Grevix's study was a large square room, with bookcases on every wall. There was a large oak desk in the middle, with a painted portrait of Mr. Grevix on the wall behind the desk. The man himself was an imposing figure, at 6'4'', with short silver hair, a beard, and blue eyes that were the same color as Tonio's. He was wearing a three-piece tuxedo. He was sitting at his desk, studying a large book.<br>"Ah, Tonio. Thank you for knocking. Please make it quick. I need to get back to my research. More information about the Numbers is proving to be...elusive."  
>Tonio cleared his throat.<br>"Father, after hacking into the NHUA's private communications channel, I have discovered that Number 64: Ronin Raccoon Sandayu is currently located at the Southern Marketplace. I would like your permission to capture this Number."  
>Mr. Grevix thought for a moment, then nodded.<br>"Permission granted. Be careful, my son." Mr. Grevix said solemnly.  
>"Understood, Father. Goodbye."<br>Tonio left the mansion, got in his car, and headed for the Southern Marketplace.  
>"Alright, then. Let's do this."<p>

Daisuke Suzuki, 17, alias Conquistador, was riding his motorbike down Highway J-45 to intercept Number 64. He was wearing a black-and-purple trench coat, with a black t-shirt underneath. He was also wearing beige pants, and his purple Duel Disk. His dark grey eyes stared ahead and his somewhat-short black-and-purple hair flapped in the wind. The words of Agent Maverick still rung in his mind...  
><em>You've failed quite a bit recently. Let the professionals take care of this.<br>_Many years earlier, Daisuke had made a pledge to himself to no longer exhibit human emotions. This, however, caused a bit of anger to well up in his chest.  
>"How dare he..." Daisuke said to himself.<br>"I am...perfectly capable of securing a single Number. While it's true I haven't had much success recently, that doesn't mean the higher-ups should write me off as nothing."  
>Daisuke pulled off the highway, and parked in the Southern Marketplace's parking lot. It was an outdoor farmer's market, infamous throughout the city for it's fair prices and quality merchandise. Taking out his phone, Daisuke activated a custom app that could track Number Cards, so long as they were within a mile of him. He quickly spotted 64 on the radar.<br>"Target identified. It's time to prove that I'm not the wannabe that my peers-!"  
><em>Loser...Wannabe...<em>

_A young Daisuke was sitting on a swing in an elementary school playground, nose deep in a book. He was wearing a blue Pac-Man T-Shirt, glasses (which he had gotten rid of since then), and jeans. As he was sitting there, Nakai, the school bully, came up to him with his posse. He was wearing a black tank-top, and khaki shorts. He was a foot taller than Daisuke, had brown eyes, and had buzz-cut red hair._  
><em>"Hey, Suzuki! How's the book?!"<em>  
><em>Nakai grabbed the book from Daisuke's hands, and slapped him in the face with it. He and his posse laughed as Daisuke fell to the ground. Daisuke snarled, adjusting his glasses.<br>"Go away, Nakai! Nobody likes you!"_  
><em>"Nobody likes YOU, Purple Nerd!"<em>  
><em>Nakai threw Daisuke to the ground, and started kicking him, much to the posse's amusement.<em>  
><em>"Ha! You'll never amount to anything, you loser wannabe! Let's go, guys! I'm outta here."<em>  
><em>As Nakai and his posse walked away, Daisuke picked up his book, got back on the swing, and started crying.<em>

Daisuke shook his head.  
>"Forget that. The mission at hand is the priority. Now..."<p>

Not long later, Daisuke had tracked Number 64's holder to a dark alley. As Daisuke walked down the alley, he noticed that someone was already Dueling him, and according to the holographic displays, had won.  
><strong>Tonio: 6400 - Mitsubishi: 0<br>**"You, there. With the white hair." Daisuke said.  
>"You're interfering with NHUA business. Hand over that Number Card."<br>Tonio shrugged.  
>"Ah, on the contrary, you're interfering with <em>Grevix <em>business. You should probably leave-"  
>Tonio activated his white Duel Disk.<br>"-before I wipe your sorry butt of the face of the planet."  
>Daisuke activated his Duel Disk.<br>"Unfortunately, Grevix, the NHUA doesn't give up that easily. Hand over that Number." He said, eyes narrowing.  
><strong>"DUEL, START!"<strong>

**Turn I - Tonio: 8000 - Daisuke: 8000**

"I'll go first." Tonio said.  
>"I'll summon Gradius<em> [LVL: 4 - ATK: 1200 - DEF: 800]<em> in Attack Position!"  
>A small silver spaceship flew up from behind Tonio, around him, and began to hover on the battlefield.<br>"Now, I'll play two face-downs! Turn, end."

Daisuke drew a card from his Duel Disk.  
>"My turn. I play Foolish Burial, and send Gimmick Puppet Dreary Doll<em> [LVL: 8 - ATK: 0 - DEF: 0]<em> to my Graveyard. Now, I'll summon Gimmick Puppet Humpty Dumpty _[LVL: 4 - ATK: 0 - DEF: 100]_ in Attack Position."  
>A black portal opened as a small humanoid figure jumped out of it. It had a bloated red head and body, and was wearing a suit and fedora. It made a bow, like an actor's curtain call after a performance.<br>"Now, I'll use Humpty Dumpty's effect. Whenever Humpty Dumpty is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon one Gimmick Puppet monster from my hand. Come to me, Gimmick Puppet Shadow Feeler!_ [LVL: 8 - ATK: 1000 - DEF: 1000]_"  
>Shadow Feeler crawled out of Humpty Dumpty's sleeves, much to Humpty Dumpty's horror. Shadow Feeler was a chain of five human torsos, each of them colored a metallic blue color.<br>"I activate the effect of Gimmick Puppet Magne Doll in my hand. If you, my opponent, controls a face-up monster, and all the monsters I control are Gimmick Puppets, which they all are, I can Special Summon Magne Doll _[LVL: 8 - ATK: 1000 - DEF: 1000]_ in Attack Position."  
>Another black portal opened, as Magne Doll climbed out of it. It looked a lot like a crash dummy, as it had no mouth, and was colored a sickly green-gray color.<br>"I will now proceed to utilize Gimmick Puppet Magne Doll and Gimmick Puppet Shadow Feeler to open the Overlay Network. I Xyz Summon Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord Of Heliopolis _[RANK: 8 - ATK: 3000 - DEF: 2400]_!"  
>Magne Doll and Shadow Feeler each turned into spheres of light. They began to orbit each other, faster and faster, until they erupted into a tornado of fire. As the tornado calmed, a giant red dragon, donned with precious metals all over its body, appeared. The two orbs of light began to orbit the Overlord.<br>"I activate the effect of my Dragon Overlord. Once per turn, I can Tribute any number of monsters from my field or hand. When I do so, I can destroy cards on the field up to the number of monsters I Tributed. By Tributing Gimmick Puppet Humpty Dumpty on my field, I can destroy Gradius."  
>Dragon Overlord ate one of the golden orbs orbiting it, causing meteors to rain down from the sky, smashing into Humpty Dumpty and Gradius. Tonio snarled as Gradius erupted into millions of shards of light, along with Humpty Dumpty.<em><br>_"Not bad." Tonio said, hiding the slight discomfort that he felt.  
><em>A first-turn Xyz...this agent's no pushover.<em>  
>Daisuke continued, ignoring Tonio.<br>"Dragon Lord attacks with 3000 ATK."  
>A stream of flame erupted from Dragon Lord's mouth, about to envelop Tonio in flames.<br>"Nice try, government scumbag! I play Negate Attack!. Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord Of Heliopolis's attack is stopped, and the Battle Phase ends!"  
>Daisuke shrugged.<br>"...Alright. I play a single face-down. Your turn, Tonio."

**Turn II - Tonio: 8000 - Daisuke: 8000**  
>"Draw!"<br>_That Sun Dragon might be a problem. An effect that can destroy my cards, and 3000 ATK.  
><em>Tonio proceeded to look at his hand of cards.  
><em>Hm. Still, it won't be a problem.<br>_"First, I'll play my face-down: Call Of The Haunted! Using it, I'll Special Summon Gradius from my Graveyard."  
>Small pieces of metal began to slowly rise from the ground, and came together to form Gradius.<br>"I'll also play United We Stand on Gradius! Now, Gradius will gain 800 ATK and DEF for every monster on my side of the field. Since I currently only have one monster, Gradius' ATK rises to 2000, and it's DEF rises to 1600!"  
>Orange lightning began to form a barrier around Gradius, seeming to empower it. Daisuke sighed.<br>"Fool. My Sun Dragon can still send that spaceship to the scrapheap." He said.

"Now, I'll use Gradius' Option _[LVL: 1 - ATK: ? - DEF: ?]_!" Tonio said.  
>"Since I control a Gradius on my side of the field, I can Special Summon it from my hand."<br>Two trap doors on the underside of Gradius opened up, as Gradius' Option flew out of them. It was another spaceship, but cone-shaped and colored red.  
>"Now, Gradius' Option's second effect activates, and it's ATK and DEF become equal to Gradius' ATK and DEF. Keep in mind that United We Stand's effect activates as well, so both Gradius and Gradius' Option have an ATK of 2800 and a DEF of 2400."<br>The orange lightning that was flowing around Gradius duplicated itself, and began to flow around Gradius' Option as well. Daisuke shook his head.  
>"I applaud your strategy..." He said.<br>"But, still, none of your monsters can defeat my Sun Dragon."  
>Tonio sighed.<br>"Could you please stop? You're messing with my concentration. If you remember, I still haven't Normal Summoned this turn."  
>"...Carry on."<br>"Alright, then." Tonio said, returning his focus to the Duel.  
>"I summon Victory Viper XX03 [LVL 4 - ATK: 1200 - DEF: 1000] in Attack Position."<br>A faint twinkle could be seen in the sky above the battle. The twinkle became larger and larger, as Victory Viper XX03 flew down to Tonio's side of the field. It was another silver spaceship, similar in appearance to Gradius.  
>"Now, because of United We Stand, Gradius's ATK becomes 3600, and his DEF becomes 3200. He can now destroy your Sun Dragon."<br>Daisuke sneered.  
>"Alright, then. I applaud your efforts. Come at me."<br>"Not quite yet." Tonio said, clearly certain that his strategy would work.  
>"I'll play the last card in my hand: Mystical Space Typhoon. Now, your face-down card is destroyed, and Gradius attacks Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord Of Heliopolis!"<br>Daisuke's confident expression was completely erased._  
><em>_I'm defenseless...!_ He thought.  
>Gradius flew around behind Sun Dragon. As the mighty Overlord tried to shoot Gradius down with bursts of flame, Gradius dodged flawlessly, and shot a laser right through the Sun Dragon's heart. The Level 8 Xyz Monster fell, defeated.<br>**Tonio: 8000 - Daisuke: 8000 - 7400**  
>"Now," Tonio exclaimed, taken by the moment.<br>"Gradius' Option! Attack him directly."  
>Gradius' Option flew in low, dropping a bomb on Daisuke.<br>**Tonio: 8000 - Daisuke: 7400 - 4600**  
>"Finally, Victory Viper XX03! Go!"<br>Victory Viper XX03 flew in low, following Gradius' Option's lead, and dropped another bomb on Daisuke.  
><strong>Tonio: 8000 - Daisuke: 4600 - 3400<strong>  
>"Have fun attempting a comeback. No one can match the sheer power of the Grevix Family."<p>

Daisuke started to chuckle.  
>"...What's so funny?!" Tonio said, starting to lose his cool.<br>Daisuke started to laugh louder and more maniacally.  
>"Spit it out!"<br>Daisuke cracked his knuckles.  
>"Oh, you poor little thing. You really think that the Sun Dragon was all that I had?! This will be even easier than I thought!"<p> 


End file.
